The Truth About the “Triangle of Life” and Why You Should Not Follow This During an Earthquake

Back in 1985,
Douglas Copp, Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team
International, presented an earthquake survival technique called “Triangle of
Life” which challenged "Drop,
Cover, and Hold On" – a long-established method recognized and
supported by seismologists, governments, local emergency management experts,
and first response agencies in North America. This method was conceived while Copp
was watching the television coverage of an earthquake in Mexico City. He believed
there were individuals that could be hiding in triangular-shaped crevices
within the collapsed buildings.

According to
Copp’s survival method, going underneath objects during a strong earthquake is highly
dangerous and fatal in the event that the building you are in collapses. He
further stated that "everyone who gets under a doorway when a building
collapses is killed." Copp also suggests that "if you are in bed when
an earthquake happens, to roll out of bed next to it," and that "if
an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily
escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the
fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair."

“Triangle of Life” versus “Drop, Cover, and Hold On!”

In a rebuttal made
by Rocky Lopes, PhD, Community Disaster Education Manager of the American
Red Cross, Lopes assured that, “the recommendation to ‘Drop, Cover, and
Hold On!’ is a US-based recommendation based on U.S. Building Codes and construction
standards. Much research in the United States has confirmed that ‘Drop, Cover,
and Hold On!’ has saved lives in the United States.” Lopes further asserted
that based on confirmation from engineering researchers, buildings in the
United States rarely collapse or "pancake" unlike what happened in
Mexico City which was the basis of Copp’s “Triangle of Life”.

What is the Best Thing to Do During an Earthquake?

According to experts,
the best thing to do during an earthquake is to go under a desk. This is based
on infrastructural and scientific reasons. Contrary to Copp’s approach that
allegedly saves people from buildings that pancake, the American Red Cross
asserted that this survival method is not universal, as not all buildings in
the United States pancake.

Official rescue
teams, emergency managers, researchers, and school safety advocates with the
United States and other countries all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!"
is the appropriate action to take in order to minimize injury and death during
an earthquake. Other methods such as standing in a doorway, running outside,
and "Triangle of Life" are not recommended by these experts and a